| This activity
ended in 1996. For information only.
|
The 7th Grade of St. Julie Billart School Presents Our Town "Hamilton"
Through_
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Hamilton is a small, but very unique, city located in southwestern Ohio.
Every year, on the second weekend of September, when the soaring temperatures
begin to decline and the leaves start turning to the brilliant hues of fall,
the city of Hamilton hosts fun-filled exciting festival called Damfest. Fort
Hamilton Hughes Hospital is the major sponsor of this festival that takes
place along the beautiful banks of the Great Miami River, which runs through
the center of Hamilton and divides the city into the east and west sides.
Damfest is made up of a variety of rides, countless booths offering games,
food, and information, a water-ski competition, and a duck race. The purpose
of Damfest is to raise money for Hamilton's charities and to improve its
environment. The hospital rents booths to a variety of groups who are asked
to give a percentage of their profits to worth while charities.
Damfest is set up between the river's edge and the bike path which begins at
the top of the hill of the riverbank, just left of the downtown bridge, in
front of the Hamilton Monument.
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The monument on the hill above the bank of the Great Miami River now stands
were Fort Hamilton once was. The fort was built in 1791 and was used to
protect the village stores from attack and to keep Indians out Today, all
that remains is a segment of the Fort's wall and a small log cabin beneath a
large shade tree in a park dedicated to remembering the past. This completes
the area where the bike path begins.
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The monument stands as a memorial to all the soldiers that have served their
country from our area. A statue of a Civil War soldier stands on top of the
monument holding a gun and waving his hat. As the story has been told, the
soldier is waving to the statue of a Southern Lady standing on top of the
courthouse a few blocks away. Unfortunately, the original courthouse was
destroyed in a fire and the lady statue was never replaced.
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The present Hamilton courthouse is situated in the center of town and is
encased by rows of trees, forming a courtyard. During the Christmas season,
the trees are decorated with white miniature lights that illuminate the whole
downtown area transforming it into a fairyland. At other times during the
year, festivals are held in the courtyard area including Fort Hamilton Days in
July and the Honeybee festival in August. These festivals bring many of the
same sights, sounds, and excitement Damfest contributes to the community.
Continuing, down the bike path, the Fitton Art Center can be seen standing
next to Memorial Park. Its roof is lit up nightly with lights that change
colors. Inside the center, many different forms of art adorn its walls and a
variety of classes in art and dance are offered to the public.
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The bike path continues behind the art center along the river, around the
sewage plant, through the woods, and into Joyce Park, a popular site for
Hamiltonians to enjoy most outdoor sports, a picnic area and playground.
Traveling back up the path, Damfest can be seen once more. Scattered around
are many different attractions as far as the eye can see.
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Row and rows of tent booths are set up amid Damfest. Among them, the
concession stands attract the most attention with their aromas of sweet
smelling, pink fluffy cotton candy cones, steaming hot, deep fried circular
funnel cakes topped with a mountain of white powered sugar, chocolate chip,
peanut butter, and sugar cookies, frozen tart-tasting, thirst-quenching
lemonade, and a variety of carbonated sodas, along with the scents of pizza
and hickory-flavored roasted hotdogs, hamburgers, and sausage.
Each year, our school, St. Julie Billiart, sponsors a cookie booth to raise
money for a scholarship fund for needy families. All the ingredients for the
cookies are donated, the school's staff and parents bake the cookies, and the
school's teachers man the booth wearing silly hats adding to the festivities
of Damfest. St. Julie Billiart is a great school to attend. The teachers are
very dedicated and really care about their students. The school is located on
the east side of Hamilton. The parish church is one of the biggest churches
in Hamilton and is also listed on the National Registry of Historical
Landmarks.
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The children's booth is also a very unique attraction. It is sponsored by
local organizations for the purpose of teaching teamwork and goal achievement.
A few of the sponsors include the local Boy's and Girl's Club, the Elks, the
Hamilton YMCA, and area swim teams. Hoopshot, pie-throwing, face-painting,
and a fishing pond are among some of the events that reward the participants
with free pizza, candy, and stuffed animals.
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The pie throwing booth is an annually popular festival feature. Pies are
thrown at various volunteers, who are used as human targets for one reason or
another. This is a very amusing sight to witness as chunks of pies are flying
in all directions.
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The Sheriff's booth distributes bumper stickers and notepads advertizing the
name of the county sheriff and a reminder to vote for him. Vans from the
Butler County Sheriff's and Hamilton Police Departments display information
about their D.A.R.E. and G.R.E.A.T. programs for students in first through
fifth and seventh grades, respectively.
A science fair booth, sponsored by the Hamilton Rotary Club and other local
companies, displays area students' science projects. This booth gives kids an
opportunity to explore a variety of experiments in a broad area of the science
field.
The City Council sponsors a booth that demonstrates how and where a leading
citizen actually votes. A voting booth and voting ballot is set up for
individual use. This booth encourages all community members to be responsible
citizens by exercising their right to vote>
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The library-sponsored booth is filled with colorful storybook puppet
characters who are advertizing story hour and other library activities for the
young and old. The main library, located two miles south of Damfest and a
great asset to Hamilton, is currently receiving a much needed facelift. It is
being restored to its original colonial appearance to remind the people of
Hamilton what it looked like in colonial days.
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( PERSON!!!! )
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The dunking booth is sponsored by the locally popular Men's Softball
Association and always has long lines. The person in the booth attracts the
crowd by teasing them into trying to knock him/her into a pool of water by
throwing softballs at a small target. If the target is hit, the person
sitting in the dunking tank suddenly plunges many feet into a sparkling, very
friged pool of agua looking water. People leap back tring to dodge the liquid
be sprayed everywhere.
The gambling booths are another very attractive activity at Damfest. Here the
participants wager money to win a prize or more money. The people of Hamilton
seem to enjoy games of chance. There are dice wheels, instant winners, bingo,
and other games of chance.
Health Fair is a community service offered to the crowds participating in
Damfest. It is assembled on the grounds of Miami University which is adjacant
to the Damfest location. Health associates teache kids, ages 6-10, how to
call 911 in cases of emergency, whether at home or elsewhere. Games are used
to teach safety and personal hygiene tips. In the parking lot, paramedics
demonstrate with the help of artifically injured volunteers how the equipment
in an ambulance is used . "The Burning House" is used by a fireman to
demonstrate what to do if a house catches fire by following the proper safety
proceedures.
Annually, a variety of entertaining side shows add to the kaleidoscopical
sights, sounds, and excitement of Damfest. Dancing and singing shows are
performed on a stage, while gymnast use a springboard floor. Dancers skip
from behind a tent doing a polka, a German folk dance familiar to the people
of Hamilton since many of their ancestors were German and settled in the heart
of the city in an area known as the German Village.
Singing is performed by resident groups, church choirs, and local bands. The
many groups are decorated with many styles of dress from bright, exiting robes
to hip-hop street clothes. Many forms of music delight the crowds at Damfest
and can be heard over loudspeakers attached to telephone poles.
Gymnast entertain the audiences with many athletic moves and routines.
Numerous area clubs participate in this event and show off their agility
skills.
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Water skiing is one of the most popular events at Damfest. Skiers lure the
crowd by performing flips, turns, and all sorts of acrobatic moves off of a
ramp hooked to the bottom of the river. The grand finale of the water ski
competition is a real crowd pleaser. It is a skiers' pyramid made up of five
rows of skiers standing on each others shoulders. The base of the pyramid
begins with five skiers in the water with four skiers on top of their
shoulders, then three, two , and finally one. It is an awesome sight to watch
the pyramid of skiers glide over the water.
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Another greatly anticipated attraction at Damfest is the annual duck race.
The race consists of many pink and yellow plastic ducks that have been bought
for $5 each by anyone wanting to participate in the race. The bottom of each
duck is numbered. The ducks are held in nets until the start of the race at
which time they are released into the river. The boisterous crowd on both
sides of the river laughingly urge the duckies on. The first duck to float
down the river to the finish line is the winner and its owner can claim a
large money prize.
Other entertainment includes demonstrations by martial arts groups, jugglers,
and clowns. Martial art students attaired in their various colored "gee"
perform exercises demonstrating moves associated with judo, karate, and
tae-kwan-do.
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Outrageously dressed jugglers entertain the crowds juggling
brightly colored glowing balls while performing acrobatic feats. The ever
popular "Sparkles the Clown" attaired in a eye-catching white long-tailed
tuxedo amazes the audiences with his creative designs of multi-colored balloon
sculptures.
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Suddenly, the roaring sounds and the smell of fumes from the freshly opened
oil cans fill the air. Up in the light blue sky dotted with clouds, there are
miniature planes soaring around. Spectacular brightly-colored planes try to
cut the tails off other planes. Historical World War II and Cold War planes
float around in the sky, too, doing tricks, while special model planes wisk
through the air doing a variety of maneuvers. The remote-controlled airplane
show, sponsored by the Aviation Club of Hamilton, is part of the fun of
Damfest. This club is a chapter in a nationwide organization and is the
largest in the Ohio area. A crowd gathers around the bank of the river
looking to the south to view a performance under the bright blue sky like no
other.
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Day and night the young at heart form twisting lines to experience the
excitement of turning upside down and rushing like a jet through the air on
the various rides offered.
This year a new ride is introduced called the tredwall. The object of this
attraction is to reach to the top of a wall by climbing on blocks attached to
the wall which are moving downward.
Pony rides are held in a grassy area for the younger children. The ponies are
guided around a big circle for the pleasure of its riders who seem to be
overjoyed with the excitement of riding a four-footed creature.
The scrambler is a very colorful ride and goes so fast that it is difficult to
see and stay attached to the ride's seat. Along with the thrill of the ride's
sensations, listening to everyone's squeals-of-delight makes it even more
exciting.
One of the most exciting attractions at Damfest is the giant ferris wheel.
Some people say it is not a festival without one! It is erected near the
river's edge and moves in one big circular motion. As the ferris wheel climbs
to its peak, a sensation of being in the clouds or a stomach explosion can be
felt. The entire city of Hamilton can be seen from atop this attraction. All
the colorful reflections from the evening sun can be seen in the river as well
as downtown Hamilton and all of its tall buildings including the courthouse,
the library, banks, government offices, and the Fenmont.
FERRIS WHEEL
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One of the special skyline sights that can be seen from atop the ferris wheel
is the brightly lit steeples of the many churches in Hamilton. This sight
reminds us that Hamilton's spirit is demonstrated in all the churches working
and praying together.
As the rides begin to come to a stop, the booths close down, and the smells
fade away, the beautiful skyline can be seen from the western side of
Hamilton. The reflection of the light from the light poles glistens in the
waters of the Great Miami River as well as the image of the skyline that is
reflected in the sharp yet calm extremly still waters. Damfest ends for
another year but its spirit lives on in the community of people who can come
together on a smelly riverbank and demonstrate the nature of the small town's
dedication to each other and family fun.
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